The First Date
by IamDragonFury
Summary: The story of Flame Princess's very first date with Water Prince, which paved the way for their wonderful and forbidden relationship. TIDALFLAME!
1. Chapter 1

The First Date

Chapter 1

After doing "Fiery Fate" I felt obligated to write this.

If you have not read "Liquidium", "Aqueous Pursuit", and/or "Fiery Fate" you might want to read those first, because this will contain spoilers.

* * *

Flame Princess sat in the silence of her house, the only noise being the crackling of the flames that enveloped it. She sat in front of a mirror, staring at her own reflection.

"Okay, okay," she sighed, feeling on edge, "no need to worry, everything's going to be fine."

Flame Princess was nervous, for today was a very big day; today she was going out with Water Prince for the very first time.

Water Prince was quite different from Water Princess, he was a bit more serious, cautious, and a bit unpredictable. Some thought of him as volatile, others thought of him as crazy, but Flame Princess saw him impulsive and intense, which she liked...no..._loved_.

This was the first time they were going to be alone together for an entire day without Water Princess or Flame Prince being involved in any way, a day that could make or break their potential relationship. Flame Princess was determined to seal the deal; not only did Water Prince make her feel things she had never felt before, but they could touch without causing each other immense harm. Sure, at first touch their contact stung, but in time, their physical contact hurt less and less until it actually started to feel good.

The Fire Princess decided to wear her hair down, figuring that if she made enough contact with Water Prince she would get wet and it would just fall down anyway. For her outfit, she wore a charcoal-colored tank top with dark red jeans and no shoes.

She took one last look in the mirror, inhaled deeply and then exhale.

"Let's do this." she said to herself with forced confidence.

Flame Princess walked out of her house, looking up at the sky.

"_Please,_" she prayed silently to any divine entity that may have been listening, "_please, let this work. Please let everything go smoothly, it doesn't have to be perfect, just Let. It. Work. Please!_"

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Flame Prince, who had been sitting on top of Flame Princess's house, asked.

"I've _been_ ready for this," the fire girl replied surely, "I can't wait anymore."

"Well the most important thing to remember is to go slow," the Fire Prince said, "there's no reason to rush."

Flame Princess looked at him questioningly, as what he just told her did not sound like him.

"Don't look at me like that;" Flame Prince responded, "you're lucky this date is even happening, Water Prince has never really been the dating type."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" the flame girl asked tensely.

"You should be grateful," her brotheresque friend voiced, "I mean, getting a date with Water Prince is so unheard of it's like taming a wild Manticore. Although, if he's so raring to date you, then there must be something really special about you."

Flame Princess smiled confidently.

"But tread lightly," Flame Prince warned, "because Water Prince doesn't like having his time wasted; most of the time he can be quite placid, but if vexed, he can be pretty dangerous. Trust me...I know,_ all _us princes know."

"Noted;" Flame Princess said, "though half of that vocabulary you just used sounded rather atypical for you." Stopping when she realized she just used the word "atypical".

"Atypical?" the Fire Prince replied "Well, when you spend half of your young life around a pink, whiny, highbrow mess, what can you expect?"

Flame Princess nodded in agreement.

"I know you're okay with touch," Flame Prince wondered, "but...what are you gonna do if you guys end up kissing? Can you handle that?"

His sisteresque friend looked down uncertainly.

"I don't know," she said, "the last time I kissed someone I almost destroyed the world, but maybe if we're going to be in the Mountain Kingdom I won't be able to burn through the ground. Then again, there's no telling what will happen."

"Well," the flame boy said, "if you need me, you know where to find me...in a giant, glass prison."

"I won't need help," Flame Princess said, "and don't worry, we'll get you out of there eventually."

With that, she took off for the Mountain Kingdom, where Water Prince would be waiting for her.

**~Mountain Kingdom~**

Water Prince was sitting just outside the Mountain Kingdom, wearing a dark blue vest over a light blue shirt with dark gray-blue jeans and no shoes.

"Are you all ready?" Water Princess asked her male counterpart.

"Yes." Water Prince said vaguely.

"Try to go easy on her," the aquatic princess offered, "Flame Princess can be a bit...sensitive."

"Got it." the prince replied.

Water Princess looked back and could see the fast approaching glow in the distance.

"Here she comes," she said, "remember, just be nice."

Water Prince nodded in return, then his female counterpart quickly took her leave.

Moments later, Flame Princess had made it, stopping right in front of Water Prince.

"Hi, Maelstrom." she said softly.

"Hi, Incandessa." he replied meekly.

* * *

Next chapter, stuff begins.


	2. Chapter 2

The First Date

Chapter 2

Now for the actual date.

* * *

"It's been a while," Flame Princess voiced, "how are you?"

"I've been...good," Water Prince replied, "and you?"

"I've been great." FP said.

She was so excited to see Water Prince again, she just wanted throw her arms around him and squeeze him tightly; however, she restrained herself, as she felt that the act would have been rather indecent. Plus, like Flame Prince said, there was no need to rush.

"You look nice." WP stated.

"Yeah? So do you;" Flame Princess replied, "I see you like to go barefoot as well."

"Well," the prince said, looking down at his feet, "when you've spent your life walking on seashells, broken coral, and among other underwater materials, you don't really think about shoes much."

They stared at each other for about five seconds.

"So...what do you wanna do?" Flame Princess asked.

Water Prince shrugged.

"Wanna just...walk?" he offered.

"I'm good with that." FP replied.

The young Elementals began their walk into the Mountain Kingdom, both looking around as they had not taken much time to actually analyze the land around them before.

"So..." Flame Princess asked, "how's life?"

"Fair." Water Prince answered simply.

"That's good," FP replied, "fair is good."

They continued walking, though they were both rather distracted.

"_I wonder how he really feels about me,_" Flame Princess thought tensely, "_I hope he at least likes me_."

While Flame Princess wondered about that, Water Prince's mind was on something different.

"_I know Flame Princess likes me, I like her too... very much so,_" the aquatic prince thought curiously, "_but why? Why do we like each other so much, we are opposites in every sense of the word. We are **supposed **to despise and avoid each other, as nature normally commands; though lately, nature has been rather confusing. The Cosmic Owl told me in my dreams that I was destined to be with Flame Princess, he told me to pursue her and accept her, be with her. But, why would destiny command that we defy the natural order? Why now? Neither Flame Prince or Water Princess had any dreams about the Cosmic Owl telling them that they had to be together, they just...did it, they just hooked up as any normal people who liked each other would, and their love seems deeper than that of any other pair's."_

Flame Princess finally sensed that Water Prince's mind was somewhere else.

"_I wonder what he's thinking about,_" FP wondered silently, "_oh no, I hope he's not bored by me._"

"Hey," she offered aloud, "you know, I think we've walked long enough, let's do something else."

"Okay," Water Prince replied, "what should we do?"

"Well, it's the first date," Flame Princess voiced, "and this is the first time we're spending time together, just the two us. Why don't we just talk, you know, get to know each other."

"Okay," Water Prince said, "we can do that."

The young elemental royals found a high place that overlooked the Mountain Kingdom, giving them a spectacular view.

"Yeah," Flame Princess said, "this is a good spot."

Water Prince looked out to the horizon.

"Perfect view." he stated.

They sat down together.

"So...do you have a family?" Flame Princess asked.

"Yeah," Water Prince said, "but they live somewhere else, I don't see or talk to them often though, most of my time is spent taking care of my kingdom."

"Understandable." FP replied.

"What about you?" WP asked, "Do you have a family?"

Flame Princess let out a long sigh.

"I have a father, I despise him to the greatest extent," Flame Princess explained, "I have three brothers, one older and two younger, I love them to death, I have two cousins, hate them both, and I have an aunt and uncle who are rather judgmental, but in the end I know they're just that way because they care."

"Interesting." Water Prince replied, not sure what to think.

"How was your childhood?" Flame Princess asked in a tone that made it clear that hers was not so good.

"I'm...I'm..." she responded sobbing joyfully, "I'm so h-happy! I-I've never b-been so h-happy!

"It was okay," Water Prince voiced, "though, instead of really playing, I think I spent most time figuring out how my powers worked and finding out how to control them."

"Your powers?" FP responded curiously.

"Yeah," Water Prince said, "by now you must be aware that my powers can be rather volatile, especially when I throw violent tantrums. I don't mean too, it just happens."

"I get it," Flame Princess said, "I mean, my powers are so dangerous, I was kept locked up for fifteen years."

"Well I should have been locked up," Water Prince voiced, "I was...am..._crazy_ dangerous. But, mostly just crazy."

"What? No," the Fire Princess replied, "You're not crazy, you're an impulsive, spirited, feisty prince. There's nothing wrong with that, I like that."

Water Prince smiled briefly.

"Well, maybe I could just learn to control myself better." he stated.

"We shouldn't have to worry about restraint," Flame Princess expressed, "if people are afraid of what we can do, then maybe they should keep from upsetting us, I know how to be calm, and so do you, it all comes down to how people treat us."

"I don't know if all the blame can be placed on other people," Water Prince said, "sometimes I misunderstand what people say and think I've been insulted, when really I haven't been. Sometimes I misread dreams as well."

"Dreams?" FP responded curiously.

"Yeah..." WP replied, "um...out of curiosity, anytime before we met, did you ever have a weird dream? Like, a dream involving the Cosmic Owl or, just any dream that seemed to be telling you something?"

Flame Princess thought about it.

"Well, I didn't have any of the Cosmic Owl," she said, "but for a while, after breaking up with Finn, I had these dreams where I was alone, running through a forest, like I was looking for someone, I don't know who or why, but I was just tearing the through the forest, desperately searching for something or someone. I didn't think it meant anything though...why?"

"A little before we had our second encounter, I had a very peculiar prophetic dream," Water Prince explained, "I saw myself walking into the forest and finding it engulfed with flames, I tried to put'em out, but I couldn't."

Flame Princess listened closely.

"I started panic, but then...I saw a figure, made entirely out of fire, a...feminine figure," WP went on, "looked like it was beckoning me, and of course I was hesitant, but then the Cosmic Owl appeared and told me not to fear the flames and by the will of the cosmos I had to make contact with this fire person."

"Oh...yeah?" FP replied with interest.

"Initially I thought the dream meant that I either had to stop something from destroying the forest," Water Prince said, "or that it meant that I was going to die soon. I was so confused, and then Flame Prince told me about you, and..."

Flame Princess looked on intently.

"I'm certain that you're the Fire Person I saw in my dream," Water Prince continued, "I thought...I thought I had to stop you, and..."

"You...thought I was going to kill you..." Flame Princess replied.

Water Prince looked down remorsefully.

"...So _that's_ why you were so hostile at that time." she realized.

"I'm sorry." the prince sighed.

"It's okay." FP said docilely.

They both took a moment to look out to the horizon again, the sun half past the midpoint of the sky, indicating that the day was now late in the after noon.

Water Prince let out a solemn sigh.

"Why do we worry about stuff," he voiced earnestly, "bad things happen all the time, most of the time inevitable things, yet instead of preparing for them we just worry...why is that?"

Flame Princess was surprised by his question, as it sounded like one she would ask. Though, naturally, she had no answer.

"I...I don't know," she sighed, "why does anyone do anything?"

"Hard to say," Water Prince said, "it's the love and respect of my people that drives me to do things, mostly for them."

"_I wish **I** could do stuff for my people,_" Flame Princess thought, "_If **I** was on the throne..._"

"What about you?" Water Prince asked, "Who or what drives you?"

Flame Princess thought about it, the most she had done was stuff she had done with or for Finn back when they were dating. She had also done stuff with and for Flame Prince, because they were pretty tight, and she had done stuff with and for Princess Bubblegum way back in the day, she was not sure why, but she just did because she felt the need to do so.

"People...I care about...I think," she said, "I don't know, I've always tried to be there for the ones I care about, but I always wondered what was right for me to do."

"What do you mean?" Water Prince replied.

"For fifteen years I was kept in a lamp, told day in and day out that I was evil," Flame Princess expressed, "then when I got out, I was told that I wasn't evil, that I was good, but I was never sure. I could never tell which I was, I didn't feel evil, yet I did not feel good, I had no idea how to be good, if I _could _even be good at all."

Water Prince looked on curiously.

"Did you want to be good?" he wondered.

"I don't know!" FP cried, her flames flaring up.

She quickly calmed herself down.

"I don't know what I should be," she sighed, "what I wanna be, I like to fight bad guys, though sometimes I end up doing bad things..."

Water Prince thought about it.

"Well, if that's how you feel," he offered, "why not just be neutral?"

The Fire Princess looked up strangely.

"Neu-tral?" she responded, "What?"

"You know, neither strictly good or bad, just staying in the middle," Water Prince explained, "only getting involved with what you think is right?"

"Being neither just good or bad..." FP replied in awe, "I could do that!?"

"Yeah..." Water Prince replied, "hasn't anyone ever told you that?"

"No, nobody has," Flame Princess said, "people have always told me I was either good or evil, I never knew there was a third option!"

"There's always other options," the aquatic prince told her, "being neutral you do what you think is right, not anyone else...nobody _ever _told you that?"

"No." FP said breathlessly.

"Not even...Finn?" Water Prince added.

Flame Princess was speechless, nobody had ever told her that she could be in middle...not even Finn. That made her wonder, why had Finn not mentioned that too her? Surely with all the internal conflicted she expressed during their time together he could have suggested this "neutral" thing to her, but he kept telling her she was good. It made her think, did he_ think_ she was good because he_ really _thought that or was it because he _wanted_ her to be good like_ him_?

"No...no he didn't," she stated, "he never mentioned that once, he always tried to convince me that I was good."

"I get it now," Water Prince said, "people have always told you what you were, but they never asked you what you wanted to be."

"Pretty much." FP said meekly.

"Well, what _do _you wanna be?" Water Prince wondered, "Do you wanna be bad, good, or neutral?"

"Which _should _I be?" Flame Princess responded.

"That's up to you, Dess," Water Prince prompted, "only you can choose your way in life, nobody else."

So many thoughts ran through Flame Princess's mind, she figured that if she was bad, Water Prince would not want to be with her, though she did not want to be bad.

"I like to destroy bad things," she voiced, "but being good would require me to be around all the time, yeah? I...think I'll just do what _I _think is right when the time comes."

"Well, there ya go." Water Prince replied proudly.

Flame Princess smiled, it had been a long time since she had a wholly gratifying conversation with somebody, especially guy.

"_Finally, someone understands_." the satisfied princess thought.

"You know," Water Prince said, "I think that's enough talking for now. Let's do something fun."

"Like what?" Flame Princess asked.

The two looked to the horizon once again, then looked back at each other.

"I'm thinkin'...a race?" FP offered, smiling.

"Yes!" WP uttered.

Flame Princess pointed westward.

"All the way to that stone formation and back." she stated.

"Got it!" Water Prince replied quickly.

He then took off in a rapid jet propulsion of water, stealing a head start.

"No fair!" Flame Princess yelled, racing after him.

Trails of water and small flames were left behind, but the water stayed as there was no soil to absorb it and the little flames died quickly as there was nothing flammable to ignite.

Flame Princess laughed as she playfully chucked a low-grade fireball at Water Prince in an attempt to get ahead of him. When the fireball made contact with the back of WP's shoulder, it made a loud sizzling sound. It did not hurt him, but it did startle him, making him pause briefly. Long enough for Flame Princess to race past him.

Flame Princess giggled joyfully as she made it to the stone formation that served as their half way point. Just as she touched the stone, Water Prince threw a small water sphere at her, but instead of reacting in pain like she normally would in the past, she instead giggled aloud in amusement as her flames weakened slightly and her hair fell upon her shoulders.

"Gotcha!" Water Prince said, catching up with her.

He made a quick U-turn to head back to their starting point to win, but Flame Princess quickly restored herself and followed suit. Water Prince was yards from where they started when he noticed Flame Princess was no longer behind him.

The aquatic prince stopped to look around, only to be promptly tackled by Flame Princess. The moment she pounced, a loud hissing noise was heard.

"Ha ha, Gotcha!" she laughed, as she pinned him to the ground, steam rising off their elemental bodies.

"Way to move, m'lady." Water Prince merrily.

Flame Princess smiled at him and let him up.

"That was the first time anyone has agreed to race with me," she said, "Finn could never keep up with me and Flame Prince feels like racing isn't "extreme" enough for him."

"Maybe he just knows you'll beat him." Water Prince suggested.

"Yeah, I probably would." the Fire Princess said.

It was now nearing the end of the day, and the sun was now going down. Water Prince looked back and forth from Flame Princess to the sunset on the horizon, finding that they looked the same. Although, Flame Princess would stick around much longer, remaining the same red and golden colors, unlike the sun that only matched her beautiful colors twice a day. Thus, he would rather look at Flame Princess than the temporary sunset.

Flame Princess realized that he was looking at her.

"What is it?" she wondered.

"The sun has nothing on you." he said demurely.

Flame Princess felt her heat increase, her flames swelling in her excitement at hearing such a flattering complement.

"Oh...thank you." she laughed coyly, her face glowing red.

"How long do you think we can last before somebody finds out about us?" Water Prince wondered.

"I..." Flame Princess tried to respond, faltering slightly upon realizing that their relationship had just been legitimized, "I don't know. But, hopefully for a long time, I'll see to it that lasts as long as possible."

"As will I." Water Prince replied.

The stared at each other for a while, and on impulse they started leaning in to kiss. But, Flame Princess stopped upon realizing what was happening.

"Wait!" she gasped, leaning away, "I don't know about this, the last time I kissed somebody, I-it didn't end too well. I burned into the earth and almost destroyed the planet."

"How long ago was that?" Water Prince wondered.

"A while ago, like several months." FP answered, "See, what happens is my elemental matrix, or whatever, acts up when I'm exposed to extreme emotion, i.e. romance and my body like explodes into intense flames and some stupid gank."

"Maybe it will be different this time," Water Prince replied, "you know, if you wanna kiss. We don't have to, but maybe it won't happen like that again. We're surrounded by stone, which won't burn, and my body is constantly excreting water, making me soaked twenty-four seven, so I won't burn."

Flame Princess thought it over, and it made sense.

"Like I said," WP said, "we don't _have _to..."

Before he could finish, Flame Princess put her hands on his shoulders, her hands sizzling on contact.

"I want to!" she voiced, "I need to try, it has to work. It _has _to."

The royals leaned in again, this time making contact. Right when their mouths touched they felt a shocking, yet invigorating, sensation as steam cascaded off of their young faces. Flame Princess could feel her internal heat flaring up, but suddenly, she felt Water Prince put his arms around her, making her body wet enough to neutralize her flames. Thus, her elemental matrix did not react as it did the last time she had kissed somebody.

When she came to her senses, Flame Princess pulled away panting as she stared at Water Prince in astonishment.

"Wow." Water Prince uttered.

Flame Princess said nothing as she continued to stare.

"Flame Princess?" WP voiced, trying to get her attention.

"I...I didn't explode," she said in disbelief, "I didn't burn into the ground, though being surrounded by stone that's not a problem, but...nothing bad happen. We're both okay, we're not hurt. It was just a normal, non life-threatening kiss, the best kiss I've ever had!"

Flame Princess looked Water Prince in his silvery eyes.

"Did...did you like it?" she asked.

"_Please say you like it!_" she begged mentally.

"Yes," Water Prince replied sincerely, "it felt...incredible, the best kiss ever."

He took the Fire Princess's hand in his and Flame Princess gladly wrapped her fiery fingers tightly around his cool, moist hand. Relishing the fact that she could actually hold his hand, Flame Princess quickly took Water Prince's other hand.

"_This is forbidden, but I don't care anymore,_" Water Prince thought as he stared into Flame Princess's sun-like eyes, "_the Cosmic Owl would not have urged me here if it were not meant to be. I will die a happy prince if this relationship truly is my destiny._"

"_I can't believe it,_" Flame Princess though, so happy she was on the verge of tears, "_I just kissed somebody, and not only did I not burn them, but I didn't explode into a lethal blaze! And now, I'm holding his hands, his **hands**, and he's holding mine, and neither of us need tinfoil or oven mitts. I can feel his skin and not burn him, I can lock my fingers with him. These little things that non-elementals may take for granted have never made me feel so happy. This prince is a grodsend, I swear, I feel like grod has made him just for me!"_

"Flame Princess," Water Prince asked aloud, suddenly looking confused, "are you crying?"

Flame Princess then realized that red hot tears were running down her face. But they were not tears of sorrow, they were the opposite.

"I-I'm...I'm...s-sorry...I'm j-just...so h-happy!" she cried, sobbing joyfully, "I've n-never been s-so h-h-happy, e-ever! W-Where have...y-you been...a-all...my...l-life?"

Water Prince smiled warmly.

"Just on the other side of the world." he stated, gently placing his hand on the side of her glowing face, making a weak hissing noise.

Flame Princess immediately pulled herself together and rubbed her tears of joy away.

It was then they noticed that it was now dark, as the sun had just gone down.

"It's getting late," Flame Princess voiced, "what should we do now?"

"Well, as far as I know," Water Prince said, "according to the rule of dating, custom dictates that I must now escort you home."

"Right." FP replied.

They both got up and Flame Princess took the aquatic prince's hand, not letting go for the entire trip back to her house.

"Well, were here." Flame Princess said as they approached her fiery abode.

"Yeah," Water Prince replied, "I'd ask if you had a good time, but then I would look like a complete moron."

"Same here," Flame Princess said in return, "this day was...indescribable."

"Well...until next time...Golden Hour." Water Prince voiced coyly.

Flame Princess burning heart raced at the sound of the prince's first pet name for her.

"Yeah," she replied humbly, "bye."

She waved after him as he rushed off, leaving a trail of water behind him.

Flame Princess turned to her house.

"Flame Prince," she called, "I know you're there."

On cue, her male counterpart jumped down from the top of her house.

"So how'd it go?" he asked.

"Words cannot describe how so totes epic the date was." Flame Princess sighed.

"Golden Hour, huh?" Flame Prince snickered, referencing her new pet name.

"It's better than yours, _Hot Honey_!" the Fire Princess retorted, referring to the pet name given to him by Water Princess.

Flame Prince went silent immediately.

"I'm gonna go home now." he stated flatly, then raced off.

"And I'm going to bed." Flame Princess said to herself.

She went into her house, changed into night clothes, then got into bed.

"Oh..." she sighed as she closed her eyes, "best...day...ever...so far..."

Flame Princess then drifted off to sleep, anticipating sweet dreams about her and Water Prince.

* * *

There it is, chapter two.

Oh man, I did not expect it to get this long. I can't help but feel like this chapter was an overkill, I apologize.

Also, I apologize if this appears to be in poor quality, as I've said before, romance is not my strong point.

Also, if you don't get Flame Princess's pet name, Golden Hour, it basically refers to the time of day during a sunrise or sunset when the sky is all reddish, yellowish, and orangeish.


End file.
